This invention relates generally to beverage dispensing servers. More particularly, the invention concerns a server usable with a portable dispensing container, which may be lockably secured within the server
The airpot-type beverage container provides convenient, portable, manually operable hot or cold beverage dispensing capability. It permits a hot beverage, such as coffee, to be brewed in advance of, and remote from, the time and place it is served, while keeping the coffee hot and fresh The container's size and shape make it possible for the container to be positioned on a tabletop for dispensing of beverages. Reliable, drip-free beverage dispensing from a spigot associated with the lid is achievable by holding a cup directly beneath the spigot Because of the height of the greater capacity airpot-type container, dispensing a beverage therefrom is typically a two-handed operation the user must pump with one hand and hold the cup at an elevated level above the tabletop and underneath the spigot with the other. If condiments, e.g. sugar and cream, or implements, e.g. stirrers, are to be served with the beverage, they must be provided at a nearby location that is separate from the otherwise self-contained, airpot-type beverage dispenser.
To provide the full service dispensing of beverages, the airpot-type container must be augmented with an arrangement of condiments and implements on, for example, the tabletop next to the container. Besides having a makeshift appearance, such an arrangement invites disorganization and the accumulation of unsightly litter By the end of the function being catered, disarray usually has spread across the entire surface of the tabletop, ultimately discouraging and inconveniencing the user.
Accordingly, is an object of this invention to provide a compact, full service beverage and condiment dispensing server usable with portable, airpot-type dispensing beverage containers
Another object is to provide a server with an elevated cup supporting surface that enables one-handed operation of the manually operable spigot of such a container for the dispensing of a beverage therefrom.
A further object is to provide a server that easily may be maintained.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a server that permits the lockable securing therein of one or more such containers.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a server within, and from which, the containers easily may be installed and removed
Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide a server that permits easy access to condiments and the like that may be organized therein
Accordingly, the present invention proposes a server, or stand, for use with one or more portable beverage containers with condiments and the like, providing lockable security of the containers within the server in a compact, well-organized and easily maintained structure. A support framework is provided that includes means for receiving and supporting at least one container in such manner that the spigot associated therewith is accessible for manual operation, the receiving-supporting means including a base, the framework further including means for supporting a cup at an elevated level relative to the base and positioned to receive the beverage while it is dispensed. Means are provided for separably securing together each container and the framework.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the cup supporting means takes the form of an elevated, flat, level panel supported on either side by side walls extending vertically from the base. The base, panel and sidewalls bound a through opening extending from the front to the rear of the framework. The cup supporting surface is equipped with twin, absorbent, spillover containing trays, each located beneath the spigot of a container when the container is received on the base. The surface has a contoured rear edge conforming semicircumferentially to the tapered portions of two laterally positioned, frusto-conically shaped containers.
The containers are each key lockably securable within the server by slidably positionable lock plate that extends between the rear edge of the sidewalls. The plate may be positioned against the containers and generally diametrically opposed to the contoured edge of the cup supporting panel. The base is further dimensioned to receive thereon two laterally positionable, segmented trays for receiving and organizing therein condiments and the like. The framework and the plate are formed from sheet metal of stainless steel, thereby providing smooth, easily maintained interior and exterior surfaces in a durable, lightweight, full service stand.
In a modification to the preferred embodiment, a single-wide server is provided having the same novel features and yielding the advantages described above, but having instead a base dimensioned to receive only one container and only one tray for condiments and the like.